Religious orders ‘haemorrhaging’ members, cardinal reveals
The secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life has sounded a warning on the “haemorrhaging” of people from religious life. Interviewed by L’Osservatore Romano, Cardinal José Rodríguez Carballo revealed that between 2015 and 2016, some 2,300 monks and nuns had left their orders. His use of the word ‘haemorrhaging’, the cardinal said, was a direct quote from Pope Francis when he had been made aware of the numbers involved.
“If the Pope speaks of haemorrhage it means the problem is worrying, not only for the high number but also the age at which it is occurring, mostly between 30 and 50,” Cardinal Carballo said.
The cardinal went on to state that a recent plenary session of his congregation had made three possible conclusions for the crisis: “The high number of those leaving holy life to join a diocese, the not-insignificant number of the contemplatives who leave holy life and the number of those who say they never felt a vocation.”
Pope sends condolences to Quebec mosque victims
Pope Francis has sent a message of condolence to the victims of a shooting at an Islamic cultural centre in Quebec, Canada. Communicated via Gerald Lacroix of Quebec, the Pontiff extended his “deepest sympathy to the injured and their families” and “once more strongly condemns violence that engenders such sufferings”.
Separately, the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue said of the attack: “This meaningless gesture has violated the sanctity of human life, and the respect due to a community in prayer and their place of worship.”
Order of Malta chancellor thanks Pope Francis
The reappointed Grand Chancellor of the Sovereign Order of Malta has thanked Pope Francis for his “guidance” in ending the crisis that had beset the order.
Having been suspended from his post in early December amid claims he backed medical programmes involving the distribution of contraceptives, Albrecht von Boeselager regained his position following the resignation of the man who had ousted him, the order’s Grand Master Fra’ Matthew Festing. That resignation came as the culmination of the order’s attempts to defy Pope Francis’ wish to establish a commission to fully investigate governance and practices within the Order of Malta.
“In all his decisions the Pontiff showed respect and regard for the Order of Malta, while at the same time acknowledging in all his actions, the sovereignty of the order,” Boeselager said last weekend.
Seeking to put the crisis aside amid reports that it has suffered financially from it, the Order of Malta said in a statement: “The resignation of the Grand Master opens a new phase in the life of the order, and with renewed vigour, the order concentrates fully on the enormous challenges in humanitarian diplomacy and the work on the ground.”
Cardinal Backis drops out
The retired Archbishop of Vilnius, Cardinal Audrys Backis reached his birthday on February 1, automatically removing him from the list of eligible voters for a papal conclave.
Archbishop Backis was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 2001 by St John Paul II and retired in 2013.
There are now 226 living members of the College of Cardinals, of whom 119 are under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in a papal election.
